Invalid hoist



Nov. 19, 1957 G. o. ZILLT 2,813,277

INVALID HOIST Filed July 26, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. 2

INVENTOR Guenfher 0. Zi/lf Nov. 19, 1957 G. o. ZILLT 2,813,277

INVALID HOIST Filed July 26, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 4' 30 54 I IQRGuen Mar .0. Z/l/l ATTORNEY nited States ice INVALID HOIST Guenther QttoZillt, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Application July 26, 1956, Serial No.600,265

3 Claims. (Cl. 4-185) This invention relates in general to new anduseful improvements in hoists, and more specifically to an improvedinvalid hoist.

One of the principal disadvantages of existing invalid hoists is thatgenerally there is not provided mechanical means which can be manuallydriven for elevating the invalid when being moved into a bath tub. It istherefore the primary object of this invention to provide an invalidhoist which includes a water motor for operating the same, the watermotor being provided with suitable fittings for connecting the motor toa water faucet for receiving water under pressure and a fitting forreturning the used water to the bath tub whereby the water may be savedfor use when taking the bath.

Another object of this invention is to provide an invalid hoist whichincludes a carriage to carry the invalid, the carriage being demountablyattached to a support arm of the hoist and having hangers movable to anout-ofthe-way position whereby the invalid, when once seated in the bathtub, may have freedom of movement, and all parts of the invalids bodyare readily accessible for washing purposes.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved invalidhoist which includes a screw member for elevating a support arm whichcarries a carriage for the invalid, the screw member having threadedlyengaging the support arm, the support arm being restrained againstrotation whereby when the screw member is rotated, the support arm willbe moved up or down depending upon the direction of rotation.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improvedinvalid hoist which includes a base having wheel supports permitting thebase to be moved as is deemed necessary, there being rotatably mountedin the base a screw member which is attached to a support arm for movingthe support arm up or down during rotation of the screw member, thescrew member being driven by a water motor from a faucet of the bath tubadjacent the invalid hoist.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the invalid hoist and shows therelationship thereof with respect to a bath tub, the bath tub beingshown in section and there being shown mounted on the carriage of theinvalid hoist an invalid prior being lowered into the bath tub, theinvalid being shown in phantom lines;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the invalid hoist of Figure 1and shows the general details of the support arm for the carriage andthe means for effecting the elevation of the support arm;

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially uponthe plane indicated by the section line 3-3 of Figure l and shows thespecific details of a screw member for elevating the support arm and themeans for driving the screw member;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view takensubstantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 44 of Figure1 and shows the specific details of the water motor for operating thescrew member;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of thecarriage for the invalid with parts broken away and shown in section inorder to clearly illustrate the details thereof; and

Figure 6 is a plan view of the seat of the carriage with the hangersthereof being shown in section.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that there isillustrated the invalid hoist which is the subject of this invention,the invalid hoist being referred to in general by the reference numeral10. The invalid hoist 10 includes a base which is referred to in generalby the reference numeral 12.

The base 12, as is best illustrated in Figure 3, includes a tubularvertical portion 14 which terminates in an enlarged lower portion 16,the lower portion 16 being connected to the vertical portion 14 by anannnular connecting flange 18. The lower end of the lower portion 16 isclosed by a removable plate 20 which is threadedly engaged therein.

Extending upwardly through the housing 12 is a screw member 22 which hasa supporting flange 24 at the lower end thereof. The supporting flange24 rests upon balls 26 which in turn are supported on the plate 20.Additional balls 28 are disposed between the flange 18 and the uppersurface of the flange 24.

The housing 12 is supported for movement by a plurality of radiatingarms 30 which carry at their lower ends supporting casters 32. Thus thehousing 12 may be moved as is deemed necessary in the positioning of aninvalid.

In order that the screw member 22 may be selectiveiy rotated, there isprovided a water motor which is referred to in general by the referencenumeral 34. The water motor 34 includes a housing 36 which is secured tothe upper end of the tubular portion 14. Secured to the intermediatepart of the screw member 22 and disposed within the housing 36 is a hub38, the hub 38 being connected to the screw member 22 by means offasteners 40. Extending outwardly from the hub 38, as is bestillustrated in Figure 4, is a plurality of vanes 42.

In order to control the direction of rotation of the screw member 22,there is carried by the housing 36 a pair of opposed nozzles 44, 46.Connected to the nozzles 44 and 46 are supply lines 48 and 5t),respectively, which are connected by a Y-fitting 52 to a main supplyline 54.

As is best illustrated in Figure 1, the main supply line 54 is providedat the end thereof remote from the Y-fitting 52 with a fitting 56 forattachment to a water faucet 58. Secured to the bottom of the housing 36for receiving water therefrom is a drain line 60. Also, the nozzle 44 isprovided with a control valve 62 and the nozzle 46 is provided with acontrol valve 64.

When the main supply line 54 is connected to the faucet 58 and the wateris turned on, water will be supplied to the Y-fitting 52. Assuming thevalve 64 to he opened and the valve to be closed, water will pass intothe housing 36 through the nozzle 46 and impinge upon the vanes 42 thusdriving the water motor 34 and the screw member 22 in a clockwisedirection, as viewed in Figure 4. When the valve 64 is closed and thevalve 62 is opened, the water motor 34 will be driven in acounterclockwise direction.

Secured to the tubular portion 14 intermediate the ends thereof is ahorizontal plate 66 which is braced by. a gusset 68. Extending upwardlyfrom the horizontal plate 66 is a guide 70. The guide 70 is disposed inspaced parallel relation with respect to the screw member 22.

The upper part of the screw member 22 disposed above the housing 36 isprovided with threads 74. Tl'lreadedly engaged on the threaded portion74 is a nut portion 76 of a horizontal disposed support arm 73. Thesupport arm 78 has an end portion 80 extending from the nut portion 7 6which is engaged on the guide 7b to prevent rotation of the nut member76. Accordingly, when the screw 22 is rotated, the support arm 78 willbe moved up or down depending upon the direction of the rotation of thescrew member 22.

Referring now to Figures 1, 2 and in particular, it will be seen thatthe end of the support arm 7% remote from the screw member 22 isprovided with a reduced portion 82 on which there is rockably mounted adepend ing support member 84, the support member-34 being retained inplace by a pin 86. The support member 84 extends down through a supportbar 88 which is mounted thereon for rotation, the support bar 88 beingretained in place on the support member 34 by means of a nut 9d.

Pivotally connected to opposite ends of the support bar 83 are hooks 92and 94, the hooks 92 and 94 being connected to the support bar 88 byhorizontal pivot pins 96 and 98, respectively.

Removably carried by the support bar 83 is a carriage which is referredto in general by the reference numeral 100. The carriage 100 includes anopen seat 102 whose outline is best illustrated in Figure 6. The seat102 is generally triangular in outline and being narrowest at theforward end thereof. The rear portion of the seat 102 is supported by atransverse bar 104.

The forward end of the seat 102 is provided with a fitting 1% whichcarries a hanger 168, the hanger 108 being generally rectangular invertical outline, as is best illustrated in Figure 1, and beingpivotaily connected to the fitting 106. The upper end of the hanger 108is engaged over the hook 92 and releasably supported thereby.

The rear part of the seat 1'92 is provided with a pair of projections110 in which there is pivotally iournaled lower ends 112 of a hanger114. The hanger 114has the upper end thereof engaged with the book 94.It is to be noted that the construction of the seat 102 is such thatwhen a person, such as an invalid 116, is positioned thereon and isseated in a bath tub, such as a bath tub 113, all parts of the invalidsbody are accessible to whereby they may be readily washed.

The operation of the present invention, the invalid 116 is seated uponthe seat 102 when the seat 102 is out of alignment with the bath tub118, and if desired, is disposed remote therefrom. The base 12 is thenmoved toward. the bath tube 118 and when it is in the position.illustrated in Figure 1. The support arm 78 is then elevated until thecarriage 100 clears the bath tub 118. The invalid 116 is then swung intooverlying relation with respect to the bath tub 118 and the carriage11H) is then aligned with the bath tub 1155. The support arm 78 is thenlowered to lower the invalid down into the bath tub. After the supportarm 78 has been suificiently lowered, the hooks 92 and M may bedisengaged from the hangers 108 and 114. The hangers 1G8 and 114 maythen be swung to out-of-the-way positions.

It is pointed out that the drain line 60 is engaged over the edge of thebath tub 118 so that the water used in operating the water motor 44 isreturned into the bath tub 113 and is usable for the purpose of givingthe invalid a bath. Thus the water used in driving the water motor 34for the purpose of placing the invalid 116 into the bath tub 118 may besaved.

When it is desired to remove the invalid 116 from the bath tub 118, theprocess described above is repeated'in reverse. After the invalid 116has been raised sufficiently to clear the bath tub 118,-hemay then beswung to'the desired position away'frorn the bath tiib'113. If desired,

4 the entire invalid hoist 10 may be moved into the invalids bedroom andhe may be swung directly back into bed.

Secured to the guide 70 intermediate its ends projecting away from thescrew member 22 is a plate 120. The plate 120 is secured relative to theguide member 70 by gusset 122. Extending upwardly from the plate 120 isan upright member 124- which carries a horizontal pivot pin 126.Pivotally connected to the upright member 124 by the pivot pin 126 is areduced portion 128 of a bifurcated member 130. The bifurcated member130 is provided with a pair of friction-resistant arms 132 whichnormally engage the underside of the nut portion 76. Connected to thereduced portion 128 is a tension spring 134, the end of which beingconnected to the plate 120. The tension spring 134 retains thefriction-reducing elements 132 in constant engagement with the undersideof the nut portion 76 and results in an upward pressure on the nutportion 76.

In the normal operation of the invalid hoist 1th, the weight of theinvalid 116 on the support arm 78 has a tendency to cause binding of thenut portion "/6 with the thread 74. By exerting an upward pressure onthe underside of the nut portion '76, in the manner best illustrated inFigure l, the binding of the nut portion 76 is prevented.

From the foregoing description of the present invention, it will bereadily apparent that there has been devised a simple hoist which may beutilized for the purpose of hoisting invalids in and out of bath tubsand which at the same time may be used for moving the invalid from thebath tub area to the invalids normal living area. Also, by using a watermotor which will take advantage of the existing water supply normallyfound in a bath tub, there has been devised a .hoist which for allpurposes is selfcontained.

The foregoing is considered to be illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A hoist for lifting an invalid into and out of a bath tub, said hoistcomprising a base, a screw member rotatably journaled in said base andextending upwardly therefrom, a guide member extending upwardly fromsaid base adjacent said screw'member, a support arm, said support armincluding a nut portion threaded on said screw member, an end of saidsupport arm being slidably engaged with said guide to prevent rotationof said support arm during rotation of the screw member, a water motorconnected to said screw member for rotating said screw member, saidwater motor including means for connecting said water motor to a faucetand means for delivering used water to a bath tube, and a carriageremovably carried by said support arm on the end of said support armopposite that engaged with said guide.

2. A hoist for lifting an invalid into and out of a bath tub, said hoistcomprising a base, a screw member rotatably journale'd in said base andextending upwardly therefrom, a guide member extending upwardly fromsaid base adjacent said screw member, a support arm, said support armincluding a nut portion threaded on said screw member, an end of saidsupport arm being slidably engaged with said guide to prevent rotationof said support arm during rotation of the screw member, a water motorconnected to said screw member for rotating said screw member, saidwater motor including means for connecting said water motor to a faucetand means for delivering used water to a bath tub, and a carriageremovably carried bysaid support arm on the end of said support armopposite that engaged with said guide, wheel means mountingisaid basefor movement.

3. A hoist for lifting an invalid into and out of a bath tub, said hoistcomprising a base, a screw member rotatably journaled in said base andextending upwardly therefrom, a guide member extending upwardly fromsaid base adjacent said screw member, a support arm, said support armincluding a nut portion threaded on said screw member, an end of saidsupport arm being slidably engaged with said guide to prevent rotationof said support arm, a water motor connected to said screw member forrotating said screw member, said water motor includ- 10 ing means forconnecting said water motor to a faucet and for deliver ng used water toa bath tub, and a carriage carried by said support arm, pressureequalizing means carried by said guide and resiliently engaging theunderside of said not portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,087,286 Hicks July 20, 1937 2,112,760 Brown Mar. 29, 1938 2,582,586Dorr Jan. 15, 1952

